The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday ordered 12 restaurants in New Delhi's Hauz Khas Village to shut down after they failed to apply for green permits.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday ordered 12 restaurants in New Delhi's Hauz Khas Village to shut down after they failed to apply for green permits.

The NGT gave its order on the basis of information provided by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC). The tribunal also asked the DPCC to process the applications of those restaurants that have applied for permits.

A bench headed by justice P Jyothimani and justice MS Nambiar gave the restaurants a week's time to apply for consent to operate (CTO) and directed the DPCC to immediately take a decision on their applications upon receiving them.

The tribunal also directed the DPCC to file a status report regarding compliance of the NGT's September 25, 2013, order before the next date of hearing on February 6.

After closing all eating joints in Hauz Khas for five days that were functioning without consent of the DPCC and for discharging untreated waste, the tribunal on September 25 had granted them conditional approval to reopen.

It had allowed only those restaurants to open which had installed effluent treatment plants (ETPs) or were in the process of installing them, but clarified that the permission to operate would be subject to final decision of the DPCC which would verify if the ETPs are functioning properly.

During the proceedings on Wednesday, the DPCC informed the NGT that out the 32 eating joints in Hauz Khas which were allowed by the tribunal to operate, eight applied for and have been granted CTO, applications for CTO of 12 others are pending with it and 12 have not applied till date.

Some of those eateries which have not applied for CTO till date and functioning without it sought a week's time to apply and prayed that they be not shut down in the interim.

The tribunal, however, refused to grant the relief sought by them saying, "We will not give any more time. This is total disobedience. If others are following (the orders of NGT), why should you be given preferential treatment? Till you file the application, you will be shut down."